Review: Captivate

Captivate

Carrie Jones

 

Published by: Bloomsbury

Released: January 5, 2010

 

 

My review on Need, the first book in the series:

http://www.yeahwelikemaplesyrupandbooks.blogspot.com/2012/08/review-need.html

 

 

So I have been wicked busy lately with school starting up in 2 days (Senior Year...WOO!) and haven't had that much time to read. Also, I'm attempting to read 8 books at the same time so that's not real smart on my part. Also trying to balance a job with my reading time because now I have to pay for a car...Anyway, enough about my life. Let's get to the review.

 

Description from Goodreads:

 

He smiles. It's a wicked smile. Kind but not kind. Handsome but dangerous. Feral almost. I can see why Nick nearly killed him, Nick...
I ask again, "Why were you in the road?"
"I was waiting for you."

Zara and her friends thought they'd solved the pixie problem. And they did - sort of. The pixie's are all locked away, deep in the woods. But the king's needs grow stronger each day that he is in captivity, while his control over his people weakens. And it's enough to draw a new king into town. Astley claims he is different. He claims there are pixies who can live peacefully with humans, that it doesn't have to be all violence and nastiness all the time. Zara wants to believe him...until Astley also claims that she is fated to be his queen.

There is no way Zara would ever turn pixie. And she's got good friends who will make sure of that. Besides, she and Nick are so in love they're practically inseparable. But when they very thing Zara wants to protect most is exactly what's at risk, she is forced to make choices she never imagined....

 

I like this book more than the first one. I'm not sure why I did, maybe because it wasn't as odd as the first one or maybe I just became used to the oddness, but I really did like this one. But no book is perfect.

 

It really focused on Zara and Nick's relationship. I usually am a fan of the romances. I secretly and not so secretly root for all of my favorite fictional couples. But Nick and Zara just annoy the crap out of me. They say that they are in love and stuff, but I just, I don't know, buy it. I think it's because I'm not a fan of Nick, which is saying something. I am usually in love with the fictional guy lead. Nick drives me crazy, along with Devyn. I guess all the guys in this book drive me crazy. Then again, I am not a fan of werewolves (Only Sam and Jordan being an exception).

 

She introduces a love triangle. For once, I am not complaining. This book needed a love triangle. Oh my god...Am I sick? Did I just seriously admit that? Holy crap. Now, I'm usually a firm believer that the girl should stay with the guy she first fell in love with. Forget the second guy. GO FOR THE FIRST. (There are a rare few cases where this is not true: Katniss/Peeta, Laurel/Tamani, Wendy/Loki). I just like Astley more than Nick. In fact, I think Astley was the only male character I did not want to strangle in this book.

 

It threw me a little curveball that at first I hated, then learned to love. If you have read this book and are reading this review, then you probably know what I am talking about, seeing as it is basically the reason behind book 3. At first I was saying: "WHAT THE HECK!? I don't even like the guy, but seriously?" Then a few pages later, I was like: "Hehe. Yeah, I am totally okay with this." Next thing I know, I finished the book and it's midnight.

 

Pixies are just like Vampires. In the first one, I was so mad that werewolves/shifters enemies were pixies. I mean, come on, doesn't anybody else think of Pixie Hollow and Tinkerbell? But as I read this one, the pixies are really similar to vampires. That is, if vampires were blue, have a king, and can fly. But other than that, they are very very similar.

 

So that's all I got for this one. Yeah, not a long review. But I am only reading these books as what I deem "Time Fillers" because I am waiting for my really important series to come out (Right now, The Raven Boys and Cursed) in September.

 

So you might like these books more than me. This series could be your important OMG-I-NEED-THE-NEXT-ONE-NOW books. Not all books are for everyone, and this one is not a personal favorite for me. But they are nice Time Fillers and are quickie reads.

 

Do I recomend you to rush to the store to pick them up? Nah. You can be content just to borrow them from a friend like I am or from the library.

 

 

Review by Caly





Review: Need

Need

Carrie Jones
Published by: Bloomsbury
Released: December 23, 2008
 





Description from Goodreads:

Pain shoots through my head. Fireworks. Explosions. All inside my brain. The white world goes dark and I know what's about to happen.

Zara White suspects there's a freaky guy semi-stalking her. She's also obsessed with phobias. And it's true, she hasn't exactly been herself since her stepfather died. But exiling her to shivery Maine to live with her grandmother? That seems a bit extreme. The move is supposed to help her stay sane...but Zara's pretty sure her mom just can't deal with her right now.

She couldn't be more wrong. Turns out the semi-stalker is not a figment of Zara's overactive imagination. In fact, he's still following her, leaving behind an eerie trail of gold dust. There's something not right - not human - in this sleepy Maine town, and all signs point to Zara.

In this creepy, compelling breakout novel, Carrie Jones delivers romance, suspense, and a creature you never thought you'd have to fear.

I am still a little undecided on this book. I'm stuck between finding it odd and loving it. So this review is going to be shorter than my usual ones because I'm not entirely sure how I really feel about it. It kept me wanting more, but it also drove me absolutely crazy (More than usual). I just don't know. There is definite mixed feelings.

Let's start out with the cons I guess:

The beginning is really weird. Like really really weird. Not your typical YA Paranormal weird. Legit weird. (I am totally going overboard on the "weird") I kept wondering what I was getting myself into. But I stuck it out and was plesantly surprised. You just need to get over the first four chapters.

Werewolves/Shifters and Pixies are not enemies. I had a hard time beliving that these guys are natural enemies. Every time I think of Pixies, my mind goes to Pixie Hollow with Tinkerbell and her pixie pals. I always thought of werewolves and vampires as enemies. So it was difficult to believe that these guys hate each other. Don't get me wrong, I like how it was different from most other YA Paranormal book out there. It was just something that bugged me a lot.

Now time for the pros:

I learned about a lot of phobias. Who knew there was so many phobias in the world? My personal favorite is Phobophobia: the fear of phobias :) I feel like that deserves a big DUN DUN DDDUUUNNN!! haha.

I liked how instead of a boring Chapter One, you got a phobia instead. The phobia dealt with what was going to happen in the chapter. I like how they foreshadowed what you were about to read. That is really different from all the other books I have read recently. A+ for creative chapter titles.

I like the characters. Finally, a narrator that didn't drive me crazy! Zara is probably the first character that I did not want to strangle in a very long time. Kuddos to you Carrie Jones. I did not want to strangle the girl. I did want to strangle Nick though. There was one point towards the end where I kept thinking, "Wow. You are really stupid. Come here so I can strangle your beefy neck." He turns around though (Thank the fictional Gods above).

These books kept my interest. So do I recomend going out a buying it? Maybe. I would check out the local library first to see. I'm just borrowing them from a friend, but I know these are ones that I would be happy just reading once and maybe again once in a blue moon. They are a pretty good read and maybe you will like them more than I do. Not all books are for everyone.

Review by Calypso